


Tender Melodies

by GoldenPaca



Series: a room full of vampires (arfov) [3]
Category: Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Fluff, Inner Dialogue, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Non-Traditional Vampire Mechanics, Queerplatonic Relationships, Tags are a mess since im on mobile, Wels and Impulse are queerplatonic partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28832547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenPaca/pseuds/GoldenPaca
Summary: The woods were quiet at night, and in the quiet, two partners think about their odd nature and somehow finding companionship at the end of the world.
Relationships: impulseSV & Welsknight Gaming, impulseSV/Welsknight Gaming
Series: a room full of vampires (arfov) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2104158
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Tender Melodies

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [when azaleas bloom](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28729719) by [covellite](https://archiveofourown.org/users/covellite/pseuds/covellite). 



> I suggest you read "when azaleas bloom" by covellite to understand how Wels and Impulse met. Everything will make more sense if you do! (They also make really good fics for this AU, so you should definitely check out their other works too).

It was quiet in the woods, only the faint sounds of a guitar heard through the trees. There was no need to fear being out in the open, not when everyone knows just who resides in that meager hut, not when they either fear or respect the sword-wielding man who owns that home.

There, in the clearing behind the hut, Wels and Impulse stay, chatting by the fire. Wels sits on the ground, legs crossed while his hands busy themselves with his guitar, fingers nimbly moving across the strings to play half-finished songs he has committed to memory. His sword is sheathed by his side, not wanting to risk being unprepared for an emergency. His helmet, along with the rest of his armor, however, is nowhere to be seen, leaving him in his black undershirt and leather jacket, and allowing his dark blond hair to cascade down his back. He leans against a fallen tree, on top of which Impulse is seated, his own hands playing with the fluffy tresses in front of him. At the moment, he’s just letting his fingers tug and run through Wels’ hair, inserting some of the wildflowers around them in the braid he’s making. He doesn’t recognize the song Wels is currently singing along to, his voice soft enough to be drowned out by the guitar’s melody, but loud enough that Impulse can sway in time with the beat. 

It’s a bit odd for him just how comfortable he is like this. Not once did he think after he turned that he was capable of existing peacefully under the stars, and after Tango, he didn’t think he was capable of trusting someone to the point of wanting to stay alone with them, yet here he was enjoying this quiet moment with Wels at his side. He’s grown familiar with the area, what with him staying around the place a lot. 

He first moved in with Wels out of necessity: the knight’s humble house was close enough to both the seaside village he protects, and to Xisuma’s main base of operations. When Impulse first tried controlling his senses, he often found himself tired and overwhelmed by the amount of focus he needed to exert, leaving him unable to go back to his makeshift cottage by the beach. Wels offered to house him in the meantime since neither Impulse nor Xisuma trusted him enough to stay with humans just yet. Staying with Wels also helped Impulse to open up more, to be more comfortable with himself again. He’d gone through a lot in his life, and Wels carefully helped him make sense of it all and made it so that Impulse can build himself up once more.

Somewhere along the way, however, he realized that he enjoyed staying in this area. It became more than a temporary place for him to stay in while he worked on improving himself, and he quickly stopped referring to it as Wels’ house and allowed himself to call it his home. Around the same time, he started to realize that Wels had become more important to him than he thought. The knight was definitely a friend, the first one he’s had since Tango left him alone, but he was so much more than that. Wels was his greatest ally, cheering him on as he slowly recovered some of the humanity he was so afraid he’d lose if he’d give in to his instincts. He was there when Impulse felt like it was useless for him to continue, when he felt like he was destined to remain a frenzied monster, assuring him that he’s not and will never be a monster. He was there when Impulse felt like he wasn’t worth helping, when he felt like the group’s resources were wasted on him, telling him he was ‘worth every bit of effort he’s been given’.

He also found himself wanting to help Wels. For all the knight’s bravado and flirty confidence, he can tell that he harbored some kind of negative background, and so it only seemed right to Impulse to help him just as he was helped. So he was there for Wels when the knight felt like his emotions were too dangerous to the people around him, when he felt like he was too careless with his feelings, assuring him that he won’t be able to hurt anyone he wants to protect. He was there when the knight felt like he was undeserving of affection, when he felt like he couldn’t let himself get attached to anyone, telling him he was ‘worth every bit of love he can have’. 

In fact, it was on a peaceful night such as this when both of their walls came tumbling down, when Wels finally talked about the opportunity for love he turned away in a similar cottage in a forest farther away from theirs, when Impulse told the story of the scars on his limbs that never quite faded away when he turned. That night, Wels had gently kissed every mark that Impulse was comfortable showing, as though he could bring back the bright-eyed villager Impulse had forgotten he used to be. That night, Impulse kissed away the tear droplets that marred Wels’ face, as though he could stop the man from remembering the heartbreak he forced himself to endure alone for so long. They both knew, in some way, that both attempts were futile; Impulse has changed too much to return as the naive boy he once was, and Wels will never allow himself to forget the sacrifices he’d made after he turned. At that moment, however, and in the days and weeks and months that followed, they found themselves and their bond with each other changing for the better.

It wasn’t rare to find love even amid societal breakdown. It was just a fact of life that both humans and vampires shared, and so no one questioned it when Impulse and Wels walked closer together to the main base, when Wels had said goodbye with a quick kiss on the forehead instead of the usual hug or squeezed hand. Stress had a wider smile on when he entered the lab, and both the humans and vampires he encountered took the time to congratulate him. Impulse felt like he was on cloud nine, and his smiles became more and more frequent, more and more real the longer he spent with Wels. When he was finally able to control himself in the presence of humans, when he finally realized he didn’t feel the urge to feed at the faintest smell of blood, it was Wels he first told. It was Wels with whom he celebrated the milestone, and it was Wels who held him, wrapped his arms around him and whispered soft phrases of praise as the two drifted off to sleep together.

The fading of Wels’ voice brings him out of his thoughts, causing him to jerk up suddenly as though he had fallen asleep. Maybe he had, Wels’ voice had that effect on him, but that didn’t matter. Wels turns around, eyebrow raised in a silent quiet question as Impulse realizes he still had his hair in his hands, having probably tugged on it when he was pulled out of his musings. He lets a small smile stay on his face, leaning forward to plant a gentle kiss on Wels’ forehead. 

“I’m alright," he mutters against his skin, pulling away with the smile still on his face. “Got lost in my thoughts is all.” Wels’ eyes go from questioning to understanding and he hums as he turns back around, leaning back farther so his feet stretch closer to the fire. Impulse goes back to his previous task of fixing Wels’ hair, swaying once more as Wels begins playing another song.

Wels closes his eyes at the feeling of Impulse’s fingers running through his hair, suppressing a pleased whinny as he scratches a certain spot. Even with his eyes closed, he continues to play a tune, simpler than the previous one but still as peaceful. 

Wels loves these simple moments with Impulse, away from his duties and any cares the two might have. With Impulse, he feels content, complete in a way he hasn’t been in a long time. He’s always been quick to fall for people, and that always meant he had to deal with the painful longing that came with each silent crush, with each wish for a relationship that had to go unfulfilled for the sake of safety. With Impulse, it was no different. Something about the fear in his eyes when they first met had Wels feeling protective over him, and that protectiveness soon grew into a crush he couldn’t exactly deny since he offered his home to the man for him to stay in while he practiced his control over his instincts. When Impulse asked him about his past, it scared him to realize just how open he must be for his then-friend to have noticed something was wrong. It also scared him just how willing he was to spill everything, even if it was in bits and pieces. His trust in Impulse goes beyond his budding feelings for him and it confuses him and comforts him at the same time.

When they finally confessed everything to each other under the stars, Wels felt overjoyed and at the same time a bit off. He loves Impulse, he really does, and Impulse loves him back, yet their relationship felt more than just a romantic one. ‘Boyfriend’ couldn’t properly encapsulate the utter trust the two share with each other, nor did it capture the wholeness they felt in each other’s presence. They both have had experiences with love in the past, Wels’ experience being more concrete, and they agree that it doesn’t quite compare to what the two of them share. It’s just too different to be romance at this point, too unique.

So they don’t call each other boyfriends, don’t consider the other as a romantic partner. They continue to pine for people they can’t seem to have, Wels still wishing he took his chance with Bdubs in that cottage, Impulse still hoping Tango can change, and that’s alright with them. They’re happy with the way everything is, happy to cuddle and kiss on quiet nights, happy to cry in each other’s arms on the sadder ones, happy to be with each other through the mess of a crumbling society they’re in.

“...And, done!” Impulse exclaims out of nowhere, detangling his fingers from Wels’ hair and jumping off his perch, standing in front of Wels to inspect his handiwork. Wels, now with his eyes wide open and his focus directly on Impulse, reaches a hand out to touch the top of his head, feeling soft petals weaved into his hair.

Impulse giggles, the soft sound heard now that Wels has stopped playing. “What are you laughing about?” Wels asks, raising an eyebrow while his lips quirk upwards in a curious yet mischievous smirk.

“Oh, nothing,” Impulse deflects, mirroring the smirk. “You just look more like a king than a knight at the moment," he says, eyes trailing over the ring of red poppies he braided into his hair, the makeshift crown framing his face to look more graceful in the soft light of the fire. He was so enraptured by the sight that he failed to notice Wels putting his guitar away until the knight reaches an arm out to sweep Impulse into his lap, chuckling at the high-pitched noise Impulse releases out of shock and embarrassment. Impulse glares up at him, pouting while Wels just wraps his arms around him, looking all too pleased with himself. His chuckles quiet down into giggling and Impulse lets out a huff before giggling too. 

When he looks up at Wels again, his eyes are lit up in adoration, and thanks, mouth upturned into a gentle smile that makes Wels melt. He leans up and places a soft kiss on Wels’ lips, pulling back just a bit before Wels moves forward to kiss him again, this one longer but still as soft. The knight wraps his arms tighter around Impulse, clutching him close as they pull apart with soft sighs. Impulse wriggles around in his grasp, settling down so he can bury his face into Wels’ chest, letting himself relax in his companion’s arms.

“You tired?” Wels asks softly, letting his hands play with Impulse’s short brown hair in a reversal of their earlier positions. Impulse hums softly, enjoying the warmth of the fire behind him and the body in front of him.

“Helped the villagers transport some food from the main base," Impulse shares, moving his head so his words aren’t muffled. “Had to make a few roundtrips to get everything sorted.”

“We should go inside so you can sleep then,” Wels murmurs yet not moving to get up. Impulse notices this and smiles, once again burying his face into Wels’ clothes.

“Can we stay here like this for a bit?” he asks, words slurring slightly from fatigue. Wels chuckles again, the sound rumbling in his chest and making Impulse sigh. He places a kiss on top of his hair, shifting so as to make the two of them more comfortable.

“I don’t see why not,” he whispers into his hair, letting his head rest on top of Impulse’s. His eyes slowly slide shut as he too starts feeling the fatigue of his day melt away. “Goodnight," he mutters as he lets himself drift for a while.

Yes, their relationship isn’t conventional: it’s confusing and it certainly defies expectations, but here in this peaceful forest, trapped in each other’s arms, they don’t find it within themselves to care. They’re each other’s everything, and nothing can change that.


End file.
